Harness racing organisers have called for the creation of a permanent track after a miserable summer which cost the local economy up to half a million pounds in lost revenue.

Harness racing organisers have called for the creation of a permanent track after a miserable summer which cost the local economy up to half a million pounds in lost revenue.

West Wales is considered a pivotal centre for the sport in Britain with four horse racing clubs hosting a series of competitive fixtures throughout the year.

In 2012 though a number of events have been forced to cancel due to wet conditions.

Last month Tregaron’s harness racing festival, arguably the UK’s largest harness event had to be moved from Tregaron to the Amman Valley in neighbouring Carmarthenshire.

Kayleigh Evans, from Ceredrotian – which represents Lampeter, Tregaron, Tan y Castell and Ceredigion racing clubs – said the summer washout has been devastating for businesses.

“In Ceredigion we have two three-day meeting a year which are estimated to bring in between quarter and half a million pounds annually between them alone.

“Both of those had to be cancelled this year because of the terrible weather.

“The races are on grass tracks which mean the sport is fairly weather dependant, the track was too soft and we couldn’t get the lorries in too transport the horses.

“The Tregaron festival had to be moved to the Afan Valley where there is a hard track which is not affected by the weather.

“But by doing that we took everything away from Ceredigion and that can’t become the norm.”

She added: “Hotels in all our surrounding towns are booked up months in advance of these events.

“It’s a huge loss to the bed and breakfasts, the hotels and also local livery yards where horses can be kept, they all lost that income this year.

“Other businesses have lost trade, taxi companies for example.

“And we have huge interest from Ireland so ferry services in Fishguard and even Holyhead lost out significantly on what is always a profitable week.”

Mick Taylor, who runs the Talbot pub and hotel, in Tregaron was one of those affected by the cancellations.

“We certainly lost a lot of bookings this year, it has been a blow for the county,” he said.

“As a hotel we are huge supporters of the sport, Ceredigion is a real central hub for harness racing in Wales and I think more investment and more marketing is something that is needed and something which would be welcomed.

“It would be great to see developments in the future to ensure continued success and growth.”

Between its launch in 1984 until 2007, the Tregaron festival was only cancelled once, and that was because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001.

But since 2008, each meeting has been affected by bad weather.

Huw Evans, chairman of the Tregaron festival said: “Every time it happens it has a knock-on and almost hidden cost.

“People get out of the habit of coming here, sponsors lose interest, and entrants find other race meetings.”

The highlight of the Tregaron festival, the Welsh Classic, attracts crowds of over 5,000, and features the world’s best trotting horses competing for a top prize of £7,000.

It has been described as the Cheltenham of harness racing because of the number of Irish horses and spectators who travel to Tregaron.

He added: “The only solution I can think of is to replace the grass track with an all-weather circuit.”

Ms Evans said: “It would be hugely beneficial to get grant funding or lottery funding to build a hard track here.

“We received grant funding to set-up Ceredrotian in the first place which has allowed us to work closely with the local tourism services.

“We’ve been able to better promote our events, with poster campaigns and targeting holiday makers.

“That funding was great, but a lot of the work we did was somewhat wasted this year because of cancelled events.

“A permanent site is something we think could work in a town like Aberystwyth, where a clubhouse could be built, where the student population could be targeted and where maybe a racing school could be set-up for children who want to learn the sport.

“There’s also the opportunity to create a running track for horses.

“And there would be auto sport opportunities.

“The Amman Valley track is used for Speedway motorcycle races so there’s a lot of things that you could do with it.”

Huw Evans said: “The problem is that it would cost a minimum of £200,000, at a time when our funds are already at rock-bottom after the wash-outs of recent years.

“But there’s a good economic case for the council and Visit Wales and local businesses to come into partnership with us, as Visit Wales estimate that the festival is worth around a quarter of a million to the local economy.”

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